I've always folded shirts and pants similar to the way done in stores. But I've also heard that PROPER rolling saves space and minimizes wrinkles. I would appreciate pros and cons of each system. Also, perhaps some of the more seasoned travelers will explain HOW to roll clothing, especially shirts, both button and pullover. My dress shirts go in a hanging bag with my tuxedos.

In other words, I lay pants on top of one another then shorts, then roll them before putting them in the suitcase.

I do the same for my husbands and my shirts.

That way there are no hard creases in the clothing, like there may be when you fold each item individually.

When packing, we also pack 1/2 of each of our clothes in each suitcase. In case one bag "goes south", at least we'll have something to wear. We split up the formal wear....in case one bag goes missing, at least only one of us will have to rent formal wear. :-)

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Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened. Gaelic

I found rolling took up too much space and my clothes still got wrinkled. I decided to try something different. I lay each piece in the suitcase and stack everything on top of each other, only folding in what needs to be folded. I got more in my suitcase that way than my folding. My cat helped out quite a bit my compressing everything so more could go in...alas, my 9 1/2 lb cat didn't come with me on my cruise, so getting it all back in along with my treasures I bought wasn't fun...

I've always folded shirts and pants similar to the way done in stores. But I've also heard that PROPER rolling saves space and minimizes wrinkles. I would appreciate pros and cons of each system. Also, perhaps some of the more seasoned travelers will explain HOW to roll clothing, especially shirts, both button and pullover. My dress shirts go in a hanging bag with my tuxedos.

In the Navy, our sailors have relatively little space to store their clothing aboard ship. In boot camp, they learn to fold clothing neatly -- generally, folding a third in from each side and then folding in thirds lengthwise -- as that is the most compact way to store clothing. If you roll clothing, each roll is round so you end up with a lot of gaps space beween rolls. Those gaps are wasted space in a sailor's locker and in your luggage.

The best way to pack dress shirts is to fold them in the same fashion, then stack them in alternating directions with the collars extending beyond the shirt above and the shirt below (essentially interleaving the portion below the collar). This method gives the collars enough space so they don't get crushed.

You also might want to give some thought to the styles of garments that you are bringing on a cruise. When folded, so-called "microbriefs" or "eurobriefs" typically take less than half the space of traditional American "tighty whities" or boxer shorts. Likewise, so-called "Speedos" or "pool suits" worn by many race swimmers and competition divers fold much more compactly the swim shorts that have become popular beachwear in recent years. And if you bring "polo" or "golf" shirts rather than "T" shirts, you can wear them to dinner on "casual" evenings as well as during the daytime so you won't need to bring a separate stack of sport shirts for eveningwear. This type of forethought can make a big difference when you pack!

Thanks, Norm, I've been folding things the 'Navy' way for years, but when packing, I never thought about alternating the direction of shirts. A great tip I'll use. I'll take mostly knit 'polo' shirts and 'cruising shirts'. The dress shirts I usually hang on a hangar, one on top of another - up to 6 - and then add a suit, all of which go into a hanging bag. That seems to help prevent serious wrinkles on both shirts and suits. Since I'll have the room, I think I'll roll my slacks, shorts, and knit shirts, and fold the others. More suggestions and/or fine tuning is greatly appreciated.

I prefer the rolling method. If you roll tight enough there are no air spaces and I have found I can pack many more things into my bag. The trick is to be careful not to 'roll' in a wrinkle in the first place. It is also easier for me to 'find' everything quickly if I don't have enough time to unpack. I have never found a need to iron.